


Shiver My Timbers, Shiver My Soul

by Lady_Phenyx



Series: Whumptober 2019 [7]
Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime 1990)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Gen, Kidnapping, ask to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 17:11:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20911175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Phenyx/pseuds/Lady_Phenyx
Summary: While he was trapped at the orphanage, Moomin used to dream of adventure. Of pirates and storms and daring rescues.They never went quite like this in his dreams.Whumptober Day 5: Gunpoint





	Shiver My Timbers, Shiver My Soul

They had been sailing on the _Oshun Oxtra_ for around a month now.

Things had been going well. The incident with the Orphanage Principal had given Moomin a few bad nights, and Muddler a few anxious days, but since none of them were willing to go after her, and she was unlikely to find them again, the feelings faded. And there hadn't been any other incidents since then so far, only smooth sailing and sunny days.

With four such different personalities in such a small space, it was taking time to find a rhythm. Muddler was in his tin most of the time, doing things with his collection, and was generally anxious and eager to please. Hodgkins, Moomin thought, was full of his inventions and, at times, little else.

Moomin wasn't sure what to think of the Joxter.

The mumrik spent most of his time asleep, usually in the most inconvenient of places. Moomin couldn't understand how Joxter could sleep, say, in Hodgkins' toolbox. Just squeezing in looked so uncomfortable, to say nothing of the tools he was sleeping on!

Hodgkins had been irritated when he'd first found Joxter napping there – he'd gone after the toolbox for a reason, after all – but laughed it off.

“Oh, it's just one way mumriks show affection,” he said when Moomin commented on the situation. “There are different kinds, but ones like the Joxter are a lot like cats. It helps to understand him if you think of him a bit like a cat, in a way.”

Which was good advice – or would have been if Moomin knew anything about cats.

Still, Joxter was kind towards the Muddler, sleepily listening as Muddler explained things in his collection, expanding upon them at length, which made Moomin think better of him. And if he pushed at Moomin sometimes, well, they were all still learning about each other, weren't they?

Though Moomin agreed with Muddler that it was creepy when Joxter stared at nothing for long stretches of time without seeming to blink.

\---XXX---

Things had been going smoothly for a week now.

That, of course, meant that something had to happen soon.

A few minutes ago, they had been hailed by another ship, and excitement was high, though the Joxter was still lying on the deck in the sunshine, his hat over his face and ignoring them all in favor of continuing his nap.

Up until the ship was too close for even the  _Oshun Oxtra_ to outrun and the Muddler's squeals woke him as a black flag unfurled from the other ship's mast.

The noise jolted Joxter upright, and he began towards the engines, stopping when Hodgkins called out, “Don't! Pretend we're a normal ship, or they'll try and take the  _Oxtra_ ! We're too close for the engines to get us away in time!”

So Joxter joined Moomin at the rail below the wheelhouse, watching the pirates come closer with his mouth compressed into a tight line and his eyes gone dark.

The  _Oshun Oxtra_ was an amazing, one of a kind ship, but she was small, much smaller than the pirate ship, with no defenses. There was no way they could win in a straight fight against pirates, not the four of them in their tiny ship against a full warship filled with hardened, experienced pirates.

But on the other hand, the _Oxtra _was small enough that only a few of the pirates could come on board, three of them in the end. It was obvious from the scuffle on board their ship that more of them had wanted to come, but the plain fact of the matter was that more than that wouldn't fit without getting in each other's way.

So three of them swung down onto the deck of the  _Oshun Oxtra_ , swaggering down the deck as if they already owned the ship.

“We have nothing on board that's of interest to you,” Hodgkins called down from the wheel house.

“That be for us to decide,” the lead pirate, obviously the captain if his fancy hat and coat were anything to go by, called back. “That's a fine specimen of a Joxter you have up there, and a fine Moomin as well. Could fetch a good price for either one of them, if you've nothing else worth more to offer.”

Most people did not know that Moomins had claws, good-natured and peaceful as they were, but Moomin felt his bite into the wood in outrage.

A soft snarling came to his ears, and he glanced over at the Joxter, who was glaring down at the pirates, his own claws (which Moomin hadn't known he had) bared, though hidden by the rail.

The pirates continued forward, stopping at Muddler's tin. “What's this?” the second pirate, a huge man with the properly piratical eyepatch and scarf, said, flipping open the lid.

Muddler squealed as he was lifted out by the back of his smock, and the pirates peered inside his tin, laughing at him as Eyepatch shook him to stop the squealing. It didn't work, making the pirates laugh harder and the Joxter's claws dig into the railing.

“Bah, garbage,” the third, in a blue shirt that had seen much better days and hadn't seen the inside of a washtub in far too long, scoffed dismissively. The captain nodded at Eyepatch, who dropped Muddler with a thud onto the deck.

The soft snarling next to Moomin increased in intensity, though not in sound as Joxter watched the trio. All traces of the soft, lazy mumrik Moomin was becoming used to were gone, and he was a little frightened of this Joxter.

The captain jerked his head, and Eyepatch and Blue Shirt stalked off, throwing open the door to below.

The captain drew his sword, and Muddler gulped audibly when it was held in front of him. “None of you get any ideas,” he called up to the three on the upper deck, tapping Muddler lightly with the tip of the sword. “If you catch my drift.”

They waited tensely for the pirates to come back up to the deck and tried to ignore the small crashes from below as their things were rummaged through.

The other two pirates came back up after a few minutes, with a few things in their arms. “Not much, Cap'n,” Eyepatch said. “Just a couple 'a tools. Not even anythin' useful, let alone loot.”

The captain spat over the side. “What a waste a time. Check that door there,” he ordered, pointing to the engine room.

“There's nothing useful to you there, either,” Hodgkins protested.

“Open it,” the captain ordered Eyepatch.

Smirking, Eyepatch flung open the door and stomped inside.

He stormed back out a minute later. “It's a bunch of machinery, Cap'n. Can't make out what in blazes it's for.”

“Well?” The captain asked, the blade in his paw shifting to catch the light. Muddler whimpered softly as the blade came closer as it moved, pulling away again but still closer than any of them liked to the Muddler. “Care to explain yer strange cargo, Cap'n?”

“An experiment in alternate ways of powering a ship,” Hodgkins said stiffly. “Still unreliable and touchy, prone to breaking down and threatening to explode.”

Moomin had a difficult time containing his surprise at hearing Hodgkins refer to his beloved ship in such a manner, though it was true so far. Joxter was the best of them at coaxing it into working – a fact that irritated Hodgkins, as it was his invention – but even he had limits, and so did the engines.

They were a...work in progress.

“Not much sense in taking the ship if it's going to be that much trouble,” Blue Shirt mumbled to his Captain.

The captain narrowed his eyes, speculating. “Fine then. Take the Moomin and the Joxter, at least we'll get something out of this.”

He grabbed the Muddler's arm, yanking Muddler to his feet and shoving him away. The sword was now lowered in Moomin and Joxter's direction as Eyepatch and Blue Shirt advanced on them, pulling knives and rope from their belts. “Best come along quietly, now. Yer more valuable unharmed, ye don't want to find out about the sort what buys damaged goods.”

“You leave them alone!” Muddler cried from where he huddled near the railing.

“Quiet, you. We've no use for whatever you are, so we've no need ta keep you in one piece,” the captain hissed at him.

Joxter planted himself between Moomin and Blue Shirt, while Eyepatch came up the opposite set of stairs. Claws bared, he hissed, a primal sound of fury that made everyone on the ship pause.

Moomin bared his own claws, though he wasn't sure he could use them. Joxter, he was fairly sure, could and would.

Blue Shirt backed away. “Cap'n? They might not be worth it, either.”

The Captain snorted. “No wonder Joxters are rare, acting like that. Fine then boys, back down. T'ain't worth a fight.”

Moomin started to relax, until the Captain pulled a gun from his belt, a crude but effective flintlock. “But a bullet, it is. I ain't lettin' an opportunity out o' my sight.” He sighted the flintlock at the Muddler. “Now, I can assure ye that I can hit this critter afore ye can stop me, and I got no compunctions about doing so if'n you make a move. So put them claws away like a good little kitty. You two, tie 'em good!”

Moomin and Joxter were grabbed, shoved face each other while their paws were tied harshly behind their backs. Their eyes met, and through the glow of rage lighting Joxter's eyes Moomin saw the same knowledge – they couldn't let this pirate shoot Muddler.

Even if it meant this.

Above, Hodgkins was fuming, visibly torn between protecting his nephew and his friends.

A pirate each took Moomin and Joxter's arm and yanked them down the stairs to the captain. He reached out and took Joxter's chin in his paw, glancing over at Moomin. “Hm, younger than I thought. And I know someone who'll pay a princely price for such a pretty, unbroken Joxter,” he laughed when Joxter yanked his face away. The captain took a hold of his face again, tighter this time. “Oh, you're going to be fun.”

He turned to Moomin, grabbing the fur on top of his head and pulling it back. “And a fine young Moomin, as well. Young and trainable. You'll be useful. Not a bad haul, boys.”

He jerked his head. “Get them on the ship.”

A ladder was thrown down and Moomin and Joxter hauled on board, shoved to a corner of the deck while the captain boarded and the ship set sail, leaving the _Oxtra _behind.

\---XXX---

Something sharp scratched against Moomin's arm, and he jerked.

“Stay still,” Joxter hissed softly. “I'm doing this blind.”

_Joxter's claws_ , Moomin realized.  _He's working on the ropes._

Moomin tensed his arms, pulling on the ropes so they would be easier for Joxter to claw at.

The captain came swaggering over and Joxter stopped, both of them glaring up at the captain.

He was swinging the flintlock in one paw, casually using it to lift first Moomin's chin, then Joxter's. “Not a bad haul indeed,” he mused. “You two are going to make us a lot of money.”

“More mouths to feed,” one of the pirates, who hadn't been on the _Oxtra,_ muttered.

“Aye, and you'll do it well, too,” the captain snapped back. He turned, addressing the rest of the pirates. “We're taking a side trip. Set course for the Lunenminster Archipelago, lads! The King of the Archipelago likes him some exotics, and he's like to never have seen a Moomin before – they're from colder climates than his. And he told me before what he'd pay, and and it's a princely sum indeed lads, for a proper joxter-breed mumrik, and I can negotiate a higher price than that for one as pretty as this. That's why we're keepin' 'em healthy, and mostly unharmed, until we get there, got it? Damage lowers the price, and he's got a keen eye. He likes breaking them himself.”

The pirates were cheered by this news, though the prisoners leaned together tightly. Somehow, it was almost worse knowing that there was a plan, a purchaser, for them, as if they were some kind of merchandise.

And to know he'd been searching for one like Joxter...and that his looks mattered.

Joxter had gone very still next to Moomin, pressing against him tightly. Moomin leaned back, trying to be of some comfort, though there wasn't any to give.

The captain gestured to Eyepatch and Blue Shirt. “Here, you two take 'em below, get 'em secured. Can't risk 'em on deck.”

\---XXX---

The trip below was a touch gentler than the hauling onto the ship had been, now that Eyepatch and Blue Shirt were convinced they were valuable and not just some whim of the captain's, some rumor that said they _might _be valuable. But only a touch, as Moomin and Joxter were not in a cooperative mood. Too frightened to really fight back, but too angry to cooperate.

There were cages down below, a row of five of them, small and ugly, of dark metal and with shackles nearby. The two were untied one at a time and shoved inside, the doors locked tight. Eyepatch double checked the cage doors while Blue Shirt coiled the rope. Satisfied the two weren't getting free anytime soon, they headed back to the deck, arguing over who scratched Moomin's wrist.

“Why would they untie us?” Moomin asked softly, trying to hide the despair and terror he was feeling.

“Probably so we don't have rope burn when they go to sell us, if this king is as picky as they say,” Joxter said offhand.

“This is terrible!” Moomin declared, distraught. “I didn't escape the orphanage to be sold off like a thing!”

“Keep it down,” Joxter snapped. “You make a ruckus and they're going to come check on us, and they'll check the doors.”

He was rummaging under his full smock, which the pirates hadn't bothered to check, and Moomin looked at him curiously. “What are you thinking?” he asked as Joxter made a small sound of victory.

Joxter held up a small piece of metal. “Lock pick,” he said shortly.

“But...we're in the middle of the ocean,” Moomin said as Joxter set to work on the lock of his cage.

“Do you really think Hodgkins isn't following us?” Joxter asked, glancing over at Moomin. “He'll be trying to stay out of sight but he doesn't give up that easily.”

“I just...” Moomin figited, claws picking anxiously.

A paw reached through the bars of the cage, lying on his and holding tight. “We're getting out of here,” Joxter told him, blue eyes more serious than Moomin had thought Joxter capable of. “I'm scared, too. I don't like the implications of what that captain's been saying. But we're getting out of here.”

Moomin stared into those blue eyes he still couldn't read and nodded slowly.

Whatever happened, Joxter had been ready to throw down to protect him and the Muddler, had gotten himself captured to protect Muddler. He may not have understood Joxter, but he trusted him.

Joxter went back to work on the lock, hurriedly stowing the pick away when footsteps sounded on the stairs.

“Food,” Eyepatch announced, shoving the plates through a slot at the bottom of the cages. “Eat it, or we'll make ya. Cap'n needs you healthy.”

Joxter bared his teeth and Eyepatch glared back. “Watch it, mumrik. Sounds like this king is gonna get a whole lot of fun taming you, don't want him to start off rough now do ya? He just might if we tell him how much trouble you've been.” He left with a laugh, enjoying the thought.

Moomin picked up the plate, looking at it despondently. Joxter sniffed at his carefully, and Moomin paused, about to take a bite. “Something wrong?”

Joxter shrugged. “Don't think it's drugged. Wouldn't put it past them to try it if they had it,” he said. “Might be a bit early for that yet. We've been cooperating so far. Mostly.”

“Oh,” Moomin said, looking back at his plate. Joxter grinned at him.

“You try it first, then,” Joxter suggested. “I need to pick these locks, can't do that if I'm out of it.”

Moomin gave him a glare and reluctantly started eating while Joxter got back to work.

Moomin had finished his and Joxter reluctantly ate his as well when it seemed Momin wasn't about to pass out or get loopy.

“When will you...?” Moomin asked, gesturing at the door to his cage.

Joxter looked up at the deck above, where sounds of footsteps echoed. “After dark,” he answered. “We can get out then.”

And if only one of our doors is open, his eyes said without words, at least I'm the one who'll be in trouble. Or they'll guess they forgot mine.

He curled up into a ball and a few seconds later was asleep. Moomin glared at him jealously.

With no other options, he copied the Joxter, though sleep was a long time coming for him.

\---XXX---

“Moomin. Moomin, wake up!”

Moomin groaned. He'd been having the loveliest dream, and...Joxter's paw on his shoulder shook him again, and Moomin blinked open his eyes.

He came fully awake a second later, realizing that Joxter was sitting beside him in the cage.

“Good. Come on, I have a few ideas to keep these pirates busy while we make our escape,” he whispered.

“Are you sure about this?” Moomin whispered as they slipped out of the cages and Joxter headed for the stairs and the mid deck, a floor between the hold they'd been kept in and the deck overhead.

“Better to be adrift at sea than sold as slaves,” Joxter hissed. “Trust Hodgkins. I'll send him a signal he'll have to be blind and deaf not to see.”

Well, when he put it that way...

There were piles of casks in the middle deck, and Moomin wrinkled his nose at the smell the pirates had down here, from living in the cramped space and never airing it out.

Joxter grinned over his shoulder at him. “Sort of smells like the color brown, doesn't it?” he said. “With that sharp note of...” he rolled over a barrel, very careful of noise, “gunpowder!”

“Joxter! We could...if we blow up the ship...”

“They were going to sell us into something worse than death, Moomin,” Joxter said seriously, those blue eyes fastened on Moomin. “Mumriks fade and die when they're kept captive, and I doubt Moomins do much better. And that would be if we're lucky.”

“Wait, what?” Moomin hissed, ignored as Joxter began moving more barrels and spreading gunpowder in narrow lines between them, a line to each separate barrel meeting in the center of the floor. “Joxter, you can't just drop something like that...”

“No time, hurry,” Joxter said, lying a line of gunpowder away from the barrels. “If I've timed this right, we'll have about three minutes to get into a lifeboat and off this ship. It's the best I can give us.” He dug into his smock, pulling out matches. He lit one and laid it in the gunpowder, watching until it caught and began racing along the trail he'd left it. “Let's go!”

He grabbed Moomin's paw, racing up to the deck. They peeked over the edge, looking at the men lying about asleep.

There was a man on lookout, up in the crow's nest, and they rushed from cover to cover breathlessly until they reached the lifeboat. Moomin hesitated and found himself shoved into the lifeboat when he took too long for Joxter's liking.

Joxter's claws slashed at the ropes holding the boat to the ship, and it fell into the water with a mighty splash.

From below, Moomin heard pirates beginning to wake, heard one of them cry out, “The mumrik! It's escaping!”

Joxter leapt over the side into the lifeboat, and a pirate leaned over the railing. He stared at them for a brief moment, still groggy from sleep, before calling out, “The moomin, too! Wake up, they're getting away!”

Then the explosions began.

It shoved their lifeboat away from the ship, and up on the deck, there were more pressing matters than their escape.

In the distance, lit by the moon, they saw the  _Oshun Oxtra,_ following them with full sail.

Joxter and Moomin took to the oars, paddling as quickly as they could towards the  _Oxtra_ .

Muddler leaned over the side, calling up to Hodgkins joyfully as explosions continued to light the sky.

Lifeboats were lowering from the ship as a rope was dropped to Moomin and Joxter.

Moomin was boosted up the rope, Joxter swarming up it behind him as Muddler pulled Moomin onto the ship.

Up above, Hodgkins was spinning the wheel frantically, turning them from the ship and the fleet of lifeboats heading their way.

Joxter dashed down to the engine room, and moments later they heard the engines roar to life.

Smoke billowed out of the  _Oshun Oxtra'_ s smokestack and she leapt through the water, as though as eager as her crew to get away from their pursuers.

The sky was still it by the light of the burning pirate ship as she flew through the water, faster than the pirates could follow in their lifeboats and burning ship, and they were lost to the horizon soon after.

The _Oxtra_ didn't slow until long after the sun had risen and the engines needed a break or else they, too, could burst into flames.

Joxter emerged from the engine room, wiping his paws on a rag, and was engulfed in a hug from the Muddler.

He smiled fondly and patted Muddler's head as Muddler cried, clinging tightly.

“We're fine, Muds,” he said quietly. “A little shaken up but fine.”

“That was a mighty scare,” Hodgkins commented, coming down from the wheelhouse.

“It was one adventure I wouldn't care to repeat, that's for sure,” Moomin said, suddenly exhausted. He slid to the deck, joined by Joxter and Muddler, who was still clinging to Joxter but released him with one arm to bring Moomin in to his clinging.

“They were so mean!” Muddler cried. “I'm glad you blew up their ship!” he added with sudden fierceness. “I hope there's nothing left of it at all!”

Moomin looked over at Joxter, who was rubbing small circles on Muddler's back now, watching him fondly.

He'd seen a new side of Joxter tonight, a protective, fierce side, and, well, there were some things one couldn't go through without coming out friends.

Escaping from pirates was one of them, Moomin decided. No matter how odd Joxter was, they were a team now.

Maybe, even, with a little more time, a sort of...family.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the gunpowder thing would work – the Mythbusters tested it. That was a fun episode. ;)
> 
> (Title from Shiver My Timbers from Muppet Treasure Island)


End file.
